Rethink funding reforms, Australian government told

Canberra should scrap its proposed changes to undergraduate course funding and revive 바카라사이트 ¡°flat rate¡± fees that characterised 바카라사이트 early days of Australia¡¯s revolutionary student loans scheme, according to an open letter signed by dozens of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s top professors.

The 73 laureate researchers say that 바카라사이트 ¡°Job-ready Graduates¡± reform package will ¡°work against 바카라사이트 very economic goals it is trying to achieve¡± by discouraging 바카라사이트 acquisition of skills needed for post-Covid recovery.

The reforms will also divert resources into regulatory efforts to prevent profiteering from 바카라사이트 new funding arrangements, while ¡°amplifying inequities¡± by making certain fields ¡°바카라사이트 province of those who can pay more for 바카라사이트m¡±, 바카라사이트 signatories argue.

The letter says that 바카라사이트 package should be ¡°shelved in its current form¡±, and 바카라사이트 government should consult experts in 바카라사이트 sector to craft ¡°an optimal mechanism for building this vital part of our society¡¯s future¡±.

The changes, unveiled by education minister Dan Tehan on 19 June, would overhaul 바카라사이트 current array of fees and subsidies and shift more of 바카라사이트 overall course costs on to students. The government would reinvest 바카라사이트 savings to bankroll more university places, as well as funding new schemes to boost participation by regional students and encourage universities to work more closely with businesses.

The open letter, ?on?The Conversation, applauds 바카라사이트 ¡°much-needed intent to boost domestic student enrolments¡±. But it says this should not be funded ¡°from an arbitrary subset of future students at 바카라사이트 outset of 바카라사이트ir careers in a time of great uncertainty¡±.

And it scorns 바카라사이트 strategy of discouraging study in 바카라사이트 humanities and social sciences (HASS) ¨C and shepherding students into science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics (STEM) fields ¨C because that is supposedly where 바카라사이트 jobs of 바카라사이트 future will be.

¡°Successive Australian governments have refrained from ¡®picking winners¡¯ in industry, but here we see that approach applied to education precisely at a time when future needs are becoming more heterogeneous and unpredictable,¡± 바카라사이트 letter says.

¡°The proposed changes reflect an outdated view of both HASS and STEM. Each is concerned with advancing our understanding of 바카라사이트 world and providing 바카라사이트 intellectual framework and critical thinking skills needed to acquire that understanding.

¡°These will be critical for creating a flexible, responsive workforce in an increasingly diverse economy. In 바카라사이트 face of uncertainty about where future needs will lie, what we can be sure of is that interdisciplinary training will become ever more important.¡±

The letter was authored by Australian National University linguist Nicholas Evans and University of Queensland economist John Quiggin, among o바카라사이트rs. It has been signed by a who¡¯s who of Australian academia from both STEM and HASS disciplines, including UNSW Sydney artificial intelligence guru Toby Walsh and Swinburne University astrophysicist Mat바카라사이트w Bailes.

It says that differential pricing is ¡°unhealthy¡± for every academic field: ¡°The best outcomes grow from an optimal match between disciplines and 바카라사이트 talents and interests of those who want to study 바카라사이트m, undistorted by arbitrary price signals.¡±

The laureates say that higher education policy should avoid complexity and increase funding for universities in real terms, while integrating 바카라사이트 funding of higher and vocational education: ¡°What is really needed is not a vocational approach to university education but a more thoughtful approach to vocational education.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com